Improvement in life-boats



didnt -iaiz aan eine;

JAMES M. STARR, ourolvn- DU LA'o,wIsooNsI`N.

Leners Patent no. 110.600, dated-December 27, 1870.

IMPROVEMENII IN LIFE-noms.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part 'o the same.

To all whom 4'it may concern.'

pelling and'steering it, and with lockers'for containing supplies, the boat to be so arranged' that, when not inl use, it can' be folded or closed into a small space for storage ortransportation. I

The invention consists in a boatconiposed of four transverse sections, they bow and stern'being detachable from the waist or body, and thebody being hinged transversely in its middle, so that the bow and stern sections may be placed within it and inclosed -by fold- -ing the latter up.

.lt also consists in a sectional shaft, provided .with a propeller-wheel, and connectcdwith'gear and handcranks inthe boat. i I

And it further consists in a novel arrangement of extensible folding outriggers or air-cans, and of lockers for containing supplies.

Figure l is a side view of 4my boat ready for use, llle after part being taken in section through the mid- Figure 2 is a top plan view of the `boat extended,

but with one Outrigger closed against the side.

Figure 3 is a transverse sect-ion of the same on the line x x of fig. 2` j p Figures 4 andv 5 are, respectively, aside and an end viev of the boat folded for storage or transportation; au v Figure 6 are views in plan and section of the'blocks or devices for locking thesections of the boat together;

In the drawing- A represents the body-.or waist of my boat, which body is divided transversely-into two equal parts, A1 A, provided with tight bulk-heads at each end, and hinged together on the upper side, asshown-in figs. 1 -and 2. The parts of the body thus constructed and connected can either be extended end to end, as in iigs. l and 2,'or folded upon one another, as in figs. 4 and 5.

'lhe section A1 I provide on its under side with a: spring hook or catch, b, which, when the two sections are straightened out, engages in a corresponding notch in A2, and thereby serves to lock the parts or sections rigidly together.

I also attach to the adjacent ends of the sections A1 A2, on each side 'of the boat, lugs, d d, and provide blocks, e2, with tapering dovetailed grooves in their faces, and clasp one of them over each pair of lugs, as shown in figs. 1 and 2, as an additional lockfor holding the parts together.

(l and D represent, respectively, the how an'dfstern, which are made separate from the body, hollow, and air-tight. They are each provided with two springcatches, ve, one on the upper and the other on' the lower side, whereby they may be secured t0. their respective ends ofthe body, as shown in figs. 1 and 2, and they are also provided each with two eyes or staples, d', ,which protrude through the ends of the body,

and are fastened byhooks, h, in the latter', as shown.

If desired, the bow and stern sections and the ends of the Abody may be provided with lugs, so that the Aparts may be'locked together by grooved blocks similar to those described for securing the ltwo parts of the body together.

In the bottom of the boat I mount a longitudinal shaft, E, which extends out through the stern, and

has a propeller, F, attached to it,this shaft being severed and provided with a suitable coupling at the point Where the stern D and the body separate, as shown in iig. l. f

The portion of theshaft which passes through ,thel stern' section is mounted in a tube, el, which extends through the same, and is secured thereto at each end in a wateretight manner, as shown in fig. l. In this manner the necessity of a stuiing-box at each end is avoided, and the leakage of Water into the hollow airspace ofthe stern prevented. Y

The shaft, where it passes through the end of the body, is provided with a stuing-box or other device to prevent leakage.

To the inner end of the propeller-shaft E, I attach a bevel-pinion, Z, and opposite the end of the shaft E I mount a vertical shaft, la, having on its lower end a bevel-wheel, n., which meshes into the pinion l, as shown.

On the upper end' of the shaft m'I secure the bevelpinion, o, whichmeshes intoa bevel-wheeLp, mounted ou a horizontal shaft, q, which I mount above shaft m, as shown in igsl and 2.

To the ends of shaft q I attach cranks, r, by oper' vating which motion is communicated to the propeller F and the boat moved forwariL To the end of the stern-section D, I secure a rudder, Gr, and provide it with a detachable yoke, s, and pass lin'es, t, from this yokev forward, through eyes on the sides ofthe boat, to the bow, as shown in figs. l and 2, so that the boat can be steered by a person sitting in the bow as a lookout.

`In the tw ends of each' section of the body I secure air-tight vessels or lockers, H and H', and pro-. vide them with openings, and screw-capsor covers therefor, as shown in figs. 1 and 2, whereby access may be had to their interior. These vessels serve to hold foo'd and other supplies', which are kept perfectly dry and pure thereby. One or more of these vessels arealso provided with cocks, so that, when filled with water or other fluids, the same maybe drawn cti' through the cocks. The vessels or chambers H are made low, so that they may also be used as seats by the occupants.

'As an 'additional safeguard for locking the two parts of the-body together, one or more bolts, X', may be passed through Vthe adjoining ends of the sections and the tanks therein, as shown in figs. 1 and 2. When 'this is done, tubes f are 4secured through the tanks or vessels to receive the bolts, in a manner similar to that through which the propeller-shaft passes,

'so' as to prevent the leakage of water into the tanks.

To each side of the body A, I hinge two arms or braces, I, one at each end, and to4 the end of each arm I pivot or swivel a ring or band, y.

I next provide two tubes, J, of the same length as the body, and each consisting of two air-tight sections hinged together, end to end, and provided with a hook, z, and pin, z', by which they may be fastened out in line witheach other, as shown in tigsfl and 2.

I then mount one of these tubes on each side of the boat,by inserting its ends through 'the bands i/,on the -ends of arms I, as shown' in igs. 1, 2,'and 4. -On

closing the arms I inward, the bands y ,slide along on the tubes J, andthe latter are brought Vinward against the side of the boat; but, upon turning the arms I outward, the tubes are carried and held at some distance out from the side of the boat', as shown in figs. 2 and 3.

To the .sides of the body I attach brace-rods, a', the

free ends of which 4may be hooked into eyes on the' arms I, when the latter arc extended, so as.to hold the tubes or outriggers "are extended, and the boatv careens badly to either side, the tube on that side is brought to bear upon the Water, and being very buoyant, and at the end of along arm, it oiers great resistance to the capsizing of the boat.

When the boat thus constructed is required for use, the body is unfolded, when the catch b automatically engages and locks the parts in position, and then the dovetail blocks are applied to the lugs d d. The bou7 G is then applied so that its catches e-engage with the body, and the hooks h fastened into the eyes al' of the bow. The stern is next applied in like manner, takj ing care to fit the two parts of the propeller-shaft touaeoo gether, and then the tubes J unhooked, extended, and

braced by the rods, the tiljler-yoke applied, and the boat is ready for use.

When the boat is to be packed for storage or transportation, the rods c are unhooked and the arms I closed, so as to bring the tubes against the sides of the boat, and then the tubes hooked fast. rlhe tilleryoke is then removed and placed in the body, and the bow and stern detached and also placed side by side in the body, as shown ,in `-dotted lines in fig. 2. The fastenings that hold thebody extended are then loosened, and all detached pieces placed in the body, and the latter then doubled or folded up so as to nclose all,as shown in iigs. 3 and 4, and fastened shut byi hooks or similar devices. When thus folded the boat occupies very little space, and, being light, can be readily transported from place to place and quickly prepared for use.

It isobvious that my boat may be made of `any suitable material, as of metal, wood', or paper; and, therefore, I do not confine myself to any specic material.

Having thus described my invention,

, What I claim is- A 1. A life-boat, having its body A` dividedinto two equal compartments, hinged together and arrangedto be locked by the spring catches b, lugs d d, and blocks c2, and also having its bow C and'stern D detachable,

substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The arrangement ofV the air-tight chambers H and H in each section of the body 'of the boat, substantially as audfor the purpose-set forth.

3. The air-tubes J, when constructed and arranged as described, for the purpose of being adjusted along the sides of the boat, or of. being moved out laterally from its sides, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with the body A and the bow O and stern D, the spring catches e, staples (1.', and hooks h, for attaching. the bow and stern compartments, as set forth.

5. In combination with the body A' and detachable stem D, the tube el and the divided and coupled shatt E, withthe mechanism for operating the latter, when constructed and arraugedsubstantially as and for the purpose set forth.v Y l 6. The combination of the hinged airtubes J, collars y, arms I, and braces a', when constructed and arranged as described, for the purpose set forth.

JAS. M. STARR.

Witnesses:

ELIHU COLMAN, J. H. Hausen. 

